In contemporary societies, new configurations of the countryside have resulted into a so-called new rurality. In this scenario, and differently from what happened in the past, the rural dimension exceeds the farm sphere, now playing multiple functions such as tourism. In this paper, we present some initial remarks, based on our experience in the Nova Pontal settlement, municipality of Rosana, São Paulo State. More specifically, we are interested in Brazilian rural settlements and in gender-based labor divisions, social organization and environmental issues related to tourism. For this purpose, we have adopted a participatory methodology and techniques, such as participant observation and the collection of recorded statements. From a sociological point of view, we perceive that an opening of rural settlements to tourists plays, on the one hand, a symbolic function relevant to peasants and townspeople, and, on the other, it could be a driving force for the recovery and/or the conservation of the environment.